NurseWeek

Drug used to clear acne in adult women

"Despite advances in acne therapy in recent years, treatment failures are common, especially in adult women."
~ James Shaw, M.D., study’s author

By Noel Holton
Health24News
September 16, 2000


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WASHINGTON (H24N) – Adult women who suffer from acne may find some relief taking a drug called spironolactone if their acne is caused by hormonal imbalances, according to a new report.

When used in high doses, spironolactone often leads to breast tenderness, fatigue, irregular menstrual cycles, dizziness and headache. However, when the dose is lowered, spironolactone has been found effective in clearing up or at least reducing acne in adult women.

The results of the study are published in the September issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology.

"Despite advances in acne therapy in recent years, treatment failures are common, especially in adult women," wrote the study’s author, James Shaw, M.D., with the University of Chicago. "Spironolactone is successful in treating adult women with acne. … It can be used in low doses as a single drug or as an adjunct to standard acne therapies in women."

Spironolactone works by blocking androgen receptors. It is a diuretic that is sometimes used to treat patients with heart failure. The study found that when used alone or with other treatments, the drug was a highly effective acne treatment for women who had little or no success with other treatments such as oral contraceptives, oral antibiotics and isotretinoin.

Eighty-five women, between the ages of 18 and 52, took part in the study. Their acne had been diagnosed as hormonal because it began in adulthood, tended to get exacerbated around the time of their menstrual periods or was associated with ovarian cysts.

The women took 50 to 100 milligrams of spironolactone a day, instead of the usual 150 to 200 milligrams daily dosage. Thirty-three percent saw their acne clear up completely, 33 percent had marked improvement, 27.4 percent had partial improvement, and 7 percent saw no improvement.

Shaw said that the drug was well tolerated, with almost 60 percent of the women reporting no side effects, and only one in five reporting menstrual irregularity. Nineteen of the women had slightly lowered blood pressure, and only 5 percent of the women reported breast tenderness.